ASmallBitOfTheGreatTour

The Great Tour Audaxes - Sunday 29 July 2012

Blurb

Start of the 2011 100 km ride

These three Audaxes give you the opportunity to ride part of the final stage of the Great Tour Route which circumnavigates Great Britain. You will see stunning rural and coastal scenery as well as climbing a few of Devon's hills.

The Great Tour was a ground-breaking event first held in 2010. Riders started from Seaton in Devon and completed a circumnavigation of Great Britain using the roads nearest to the sea. The event raised funds for Prostate Cancer Research.

The Controls

Honiton: Both the 50 and 100 km rides use the Boston Tea Party Cafe in the High Street. Tea, coffee and snacks are available.

Exmouth: The 100 km ride stops at the Harbour View Cafe on Exmouth’s sea front, again tea, coffee and snacks are available.

Blue Anchor: The 150 km ride stops at the Driftwood Cafe. Four other cafes, listed in the route sheet, offer optional coffee stops.

Many other cafes are also available in both Honiton and Exmouth. You will also find refreshments available in Axminster, Ottery, Woodbury, Otterton, Sidmouth and Beer.

Hazards

This event takes place in rural Devon and Somerset. In addition to the usual highway hazards riders will encounter mucky lanes, blind bends, poor road surfaces, agricultural vehicles and animals. The route includes both steep ascents and descents.

Contact Number on the Day

If you are not able to finish the ride, or leave the ride for any other reason, please try to get word to the next control or contact me, Kirby James, on 07783 672 516.

The 50 km route starts in Seaton and then heads directly to Honiton via Colyton and the Coly Valley.
From Honiton it follows the Otter Valley down towards Otterton where it joins the coastal route
through Sidmouth, Branscome and Beer.

The 100 km route starts on the coast at Seaton and then heads north through Axminster to the hills around Stockland.
It descends into Honiton then crosses the Otter Valley, climbs West Hill and then descends to Exmouth.
The fantastic final section of the route follows the Jurrasic Coast through Budleigh Salterton, Sidmouth, Branscome and Beer.